Unfortunate wreckovation of one of Toronto's finest churches - Holy Rosary

St. Mary the Virgin, Huntingdonshire

The recent dust-up over Cardinal Sarah's comments about the already presumed Roman Missal's instruction to celebrate Mass "ad orientem," has reminded me of what we have lost in most Toronto Churches. In many churches, particularly newer ones, the altar is too close to the step to celebrate "ad orientem" in the modernist liturgy. The glorious high altars are mostly gone, yet; in a few churches around Toronto, they still survive.

Alas, Holy Rosary is not one of them. Holy Rosary Catholic Church is on St. Clair Avenue West, near Bathurst Street. It is around the corner from the Basilian owned, St. Michael's College, a private high school for boys. 

There is an interesting fact about Holy Rosary. It is a near replica, though still without the unfinished tower, of the 15th century Church of St. Mary the Virgin in the Parish of St. Neot's, in Huntingdonshire in the Diocese of Ely. The parish was originally founded in the late 1100's and is now, of course, under the Anglican "Church."

Holy Rosary, Toronto

Renovated rectory and kitchen

Until recently, it was staffed by priests of the Congregation of St. Basil. As that religious congregation continues to decline, their responsibilities in Toronto where they once ruled Catholic education, are coming to a quick end. They have only St. Michael's University and St. Basil's Church left and in 25 years, there won't be a Basilian young enough to get out of a walker to manage. 

Holy Rosary Parish now has a diocesan priest as Pastor, a Monsignor and former Rector of St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto, who has, thanks to the previous occupants, inherited a rectory kitchen that would be the envy of most of the rest of the upper crust neighbourhood and is a scandal to those that had to pay the bill.

Hardly an example to set in the new Church of the Peripheries, but one imagines, in the peripheries of Forest Hill, it just fits right in. A luxurious rectory kitchen to match the smell sheep there and a unique historical church stuck in a 1970's liturgical distortion and diabolical disorientation.

We went too far

It was "wreckovated" under the watchful eye of the late Bishop Pearce Lacey of Toronto. He was described to me by a senior Toronto priest as "ruthless" when it came to implementing the non-existent "orders" of the Second Vatican Council to destroy Catholic Church sanctuaries. Bishop Lacey told me himself at the age of 92, "I think we went too far," causing me to recall that erudite British comedy to reply,"Yes, Excellency."

Holy Rosary was the only Church in Toronto and maybe in Ontario to have been constructed with a full Rood. It extended from the communion rail to the Crucifixion at the top and still exists at the two side chapels. The crucifixion scene remains but the rail and the screen are long gone but survive, decaying on a dirt floor in part of the basement, perhaps one day to be restored by a future faithful pastor. The high altar that had upon its mensa, the Tabernacle of God has been replaced by the Seat of the Presider - the exalted priest in place of the High Priest. Such clericalism. Such Masonic infiltration. They took this holy space devoted to the worship of God and turned it into a masonic lodge layout to the glory of man. 

The Chair of Man supplants Christ the King

I wonder, do the people know that the marble frieze on the wall of the Lady Chapel is actually the frontal from the marble high altar? Has the rest been used as parking curbs as happened in many places.? 

Lady Chapel with the former altar frontal as a souvenir on the wall

This great work of history and architectural art for the Glory of God is not beyond restoration. This abomination of a Masonic Lodge "sanctuary" could be restored to God and right Catholic worship. The rood exists, rotting away. The altar frontal, now a pointless frieze, could be restored. The masonic chair of man replaced by the Rightful and High Priest, Christ the King. The Mass in this glorious edifice once again be celebrated properly, all turned to God to the sung prayer of Gregorian chant in right worship as was intended in this place. The Mass celebrated according to the Missal in place at the time of this construction.

The financial resources to fix this wreckovation are there, particularly if one can justify a six figure kitchen.

The question is, "is the will, the vision and faith there to do it?

Part the Second on the $400,000.00 "plus shipping" Holy-Moly Doors at Toronto's Our Lady of Sorrows Church

My international readers will pardon a local story, or be amused by it.

A few weeks ago, I posted a story about new doors on Toronto's Our Lady of Sorrows Church. I was told about these a few months ago, their unsuitability on the Church. I drove by to take a look a few weeks ago. The story of the new doors remained pretty quite until Toronto's archdiocesan owned Catholic Register (funded by a "surtax" from the cathedraticum, the parish tax levied on the collection plate, in case one wonders how it survives in the age of blogs) reported on it with a photo and a note underneath, "the new $400,000.00 doors." 

Yes, that is right, $400,000.00 (plus or including shipping)  for two doors.

Now, I am the first to give glory to God through fine things and beautiful churches and art. Yet, the most beautiful liturgy could be celebrated on a rock or in a barn with possibly more edification; given the state of the Church today and the manner in which Her liturgy is celebrated by priests and treated by people, that is more likely the case.

The original doors can be seen on this painting by Toronto artist David Crighton. One is impressed by the symmetry and playfulness between the coffered doors and round stain-glassed windows beside them. 

A commenter is quite annoyed with me for shining some light on the doors and the cost. 

From the combox of the post highlighted above:

"I'm going anonymous with my reply as I live in fear of Vox and his rapier fingertips."

I suspect that my anonymous friend does not like the fact that blogs allow the faithful to stand up to these clericalists. Think of what our parents and grandparents could have done with the knowledge and tools a half-century ago to stop the wreckovators from destroying our historic churches. Here in Toronto, few High Altars survive and only one intact communion rail and it was only a wrought iron affair in a suburban 1950's era church. The fine wood and marble, including the one here at Our Lady of Sorrows were smashed or used as parking curbs. Perhaps my writer should ask how that happened and how the mensa in this fine church was destroyed. 

"Take a look at the last picture. The door (singular) was a gift to the parish from a group of wealthy Catholics within the Archdiocese, including several wealthy parish families."

I am very happy that "wealthy Catholics" contribute to the development and beautification of our churches but there is a larger issue. Did these "wealthy Catholics" specifically ask to spend their money on bronze doors or did someone in the parish go shopping for the bronze doors and seek out the money later to pay for them? Is this money that could have helped other parishes meet their Family of Faith goal? Was it good stewardship to spend the generous gift of our "wealthy Catholic" on two new and unnecessary doors? There was nothing wrong with the existing doors and they suited the building's original Lombard design.

"It was NOT purchased with Family of Faith dollars (The Archdiocesan long-term funding strategy and Pastoral Plan - Vox) and thus NOT by unknowing Sorrows parishioners at large."

Ah, I see, so you have been getting pressure from the little people as to the accountability of the campaign. Then good that I am doing this, you should thank me now as they will know that it was other peoples $400,000.00 that went for these doors. 

"This is fact. More facts: The door was created in Italy by one of the foremost sculptors of our time, Ernesto Lamagna (www.ernestolamagna.it), former secretary for sculpture at the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Letters."

How wonderful for this sculptor. I am glad that you chose excellence over a Canadian. I visited his website, I'm not terribly impressed though I imagine some are. So what? The point is they were not necessary, they do not suit the building and they were $400,000.00!

"He has created masterpieces for many Catholic churches around the world. The panels, frame (and keys!) are cast bronze and, as one might well imagine, weigh a whole lot (sorry but I don't have a number - suffice to say that the crane and crew struggled). The shipping alone amounted to tens of thousands of dollars. Plus installation."

Yes, it must have been quite the undertaking, I trust the walls can support them. You admit that the cost was "Tens of thousands of dollars" for "shipping alone?" So, is that on top of the $400,000.00? Are we now looking at say, oh, I don't know ... $450,000.00? What the heck, why don't we just say a half million? 

"The door is a piece of fine art. Eye of the beholder, remember? These eyes behold a beautiful work that matches astonishingly well with the architecture of the church."

They don't actually. The wood coffered oak doors designed by the architect were in the Lombardy Style and were designed for the building. They reflected elements of the interior ceiling as the doors did to the ceiling at St. Pius X Church on the same street one parish east...Oh, wait, they spent a few hundred thousand tearing out the original ceiling for angels with faces painted replicating parishioners ... what am I thinking!

"It tells two moving stories remarkably well. It will be something people come to see, study, photograph and write about for generations. And you, dear reader... Have you come to see the door? The parish and indeed the archdiocese, is blessed to have it."

I've seen it from the street, that was enough. Yes, a work of art they are, they do not suit the building, nobody should have spent a half million dollars on two doors! 

"In 1964/65 many cried foul at the exorbitant cost of the pipe organ ($37,500)" 

Indeed as I indicated, a Casavant and the finest tracker organ in Canada. A masterwork for the Glory of God and His praise in the liturgy and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; a thing desirable for solemn worship.

"and many more hated the mosaics and were shocked by their cost."

They are beautiful and tell the story of the rosary and the Life of Christ and His sorrowful Mother. We have been decorating ceilings and walls with biblical stories since the catacombs. They catechise. they inspire, they help contemplate. They keep a daydreaming mind of a simple human being focussed on all that is holy. Doors do not, once you're in, you're in. 

Beautiful things - be they a pipe organ, marble panels, mosaics, a bespoke icon,

Bespoke? My such an erudite word. That icon was not necessary, what was removed for it was necessary, the Altar Cross original to the reredos was relegated to a side wall, no additional art or colour was necessary in this Church, art for art's sake is not what is needed when what is lacking is proper worship and catechesis! Were you ashamed by the crucified Lord?

"or a door - COST MONEY. How much money is reflective of the times in which they are acquired. "

What soul will be saved by sitting and contemplating the doors. If you care so much about St. Michael the Archangel then recite the prayer after Mass. Did you know the Cardinal Archbishop of this place tried to get the priests of Toronto to do this until he was scorned by them as the prayer was "so negative." True story! 

"Oh and the carpet is burgundy, not brown, and is cleaned regularly, thank you very much. It will be removed soon enough in favour of a newly restored sanctuary floor."

How wonderful and while you're at it, restore the wrecked and discarded marble communion rail and encourage people to kneel to receive Our Lord. You might also consider the mensa on what was the High Altar and how about a conference in the parish on the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite so that it might take place there every Sunday. How about the Ordinary Form celebrated "ad orientem" as it was intended and the GIRM calls for if you actually read it? How about homilies by visiting priests that don't undermine the teaching of the Church on the family. (I do have a recording, after all) 

Looking forward to Vox's take on Renovations: Phase Two - 'The Cube'. Should be quite a ride (and read!) 

Is that a hint on what you will do with the Altar? Perhaps you should publish a picture or rendering on the webpage of the plan for the sanctuary.

Original doors courtesy of C.VanderWouden Photography

Should the good people at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish desire to have the Mass celebrated according to the Missal of 1962, the Traditional Latin Mass, that is their right. I urge them to contact Una Voce Toronto at unavocetoronto@gmail.com if they would like to learn more and to speak to their Pastor about Summorum Pontificum. They also have the right to received Holy Communion on the tongue and to kneel to receive the Lord should they so desire. 

As for the next phase, if they do not know now what is planned, perhaps they should make some inquiries about "The Cube."

They should also listen carefully to certain homilies and know that if a priest tells them that the "family" is something other than what the Church has always taught, even should society or the state call it so, it is not the case and know that St. Domenic would not be amused.

The Holy Moly Doors at Toronto's Our Lady of Sorrows Parish

Nestled on the main road of the Kingsway, Bloor Street, in what was Etobicoke and now part of the City of Toronto is one of the more beautiful churches in Toronto west of the downtown, Our Lady of Sorrows. In my view, the prettiest one is a little further along, Our Lady of Peace, but the church to Her Seven Sorrows is a real gem. It was built in 1940 in the Lombard style and has one of the finest tracker organs in Canada, a Casavant. The ceiling is wonderfully coffered and the apse and clerestory have over 1,000,000 marble tiles forming a stunning mosaic which was completed in 1962.

Below is a picture of the church after the completion of the most "ambitious and extensive mosaic production in the New World north of Mexico." 

http://www.healthheritageresearch.com/alexvonsvoboda/Connaught/AvS-SPCmosaic.html

THE CANADIAN REGISTER, Kingston, Ontario. Jan. 7, 1961
REBIRTH OF MOSAIC ART IN ETOBICOKE CHURCH TORONTO - An art form begun by the Sumerians of the Euphrates Valley in BC has planted firm feet in Canada. Mosaics have been installed in Toronto's Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, as part of a renovation program. The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin are portrayed in larger - than - life - size reproductions complemented by highlights from the life of Christ.
The mosaics were executed by the Svoboda Studio under the direction of Count Alexander von Svoboda. The work began on March 21st 1960 and seven tons of tiles, in 150 colours, were used to make up the mosaics, which cover about 10,000 square feet of the clerestory walls and the apse of the church. The cutting and placing of the tiny individual tiles were done in a studio by 13 mosaicists. As major segments were completed they were transferred to the church for installation by the craftsmen. Installation in the church began on May 1, with artists working five days a week and, on Saturdays, clearing away materials and tools so that services could be conducted as usual each Sunday. Count von Svoboda was born and educated in Vienna and for the past ten years has been identified with the creation of several murals in Canadian buildings.
This effort is realised, in what is perhaps the most ambitious and extensive mosaic production in the New World north of Mexico.

The parish is in a privileged community with homes in the multi-millions, money is no problem, that is to be sure. A few years ago the original altar cross was removed and relegated to a side wall to be replaced by a painting of Christ Pantocrator. Not that the painting is in itself a bad thing, but to remove the original altar cross on an already reconstructed High Altar, was not helpful. Nor was it necessary. It is a beautiful painting with much colour. It is an iconographic and unsuited to the rest of the mosaic and if there was anything not needed, it was more colour. It was controversial at the time and you can clearly see why! Taking down the historic and original Crucifix was wrong and without any justification.

It certainly seems that this parish has more money than it knows what to do with and looks for ways to spend it and it begs the question, "when is more, too much?"

Now, I am all for beauty in our buildings and our liturgy. I abhor modernist church buildings and would support the raising of funds to restore and maintain our ecclesiastical architectural heritage. That includes the Cathedral of St. Michael in Toronto which suffered a century of neglect to the point where tens of millions are necessary to restore and save it from literal collapse. It was a pretty "poor" building to begin with built with pennies of poor Irish immigrants.

Getting back to Our Lady of Sorrows.

The original doors can be seen in this wedding photo

Did I write that sometimes, a parish has more money than it knows what to do with? I would think if they were looking for something proper and worthwhile a restoration of the marble sanctuary floor from that filthy brown carpet and the marble communion rail and the mensa of the High Altar might have been one option.

Now to the holy-moly doors. The Church had beautiful, powerful oak doors with a coffered design which suited the structure and reflected the ceiling of the interior nave.

A few months ago, a friend asked me if I'd seen the new doors of solid bronze with the relief of St. Michael the Archangel, I had not but made it a point on my next trip by. Well, what can one say? To say they were out of place with the original design would be an understatement.

Yesterday, I arrived home to find my free copy, since I don't subscribe but someone does for me, of The Catholic Register. There, on page 4 was a picture of the doors from the inside and the price - $400,000.00. That's right, you read that correctly. The Holy-Moly Doors were $400,000.00. The Catholic Register was not wrong and that was not an added a "0", as I confirmed the accuracy of the number with the Editor. 

Four. Hundred. Thousand. Dollars. For two doors.

Let us not compare this to Our Lord and the ointment where Judas complained about the cost of it. The ointment was what was of value, not the vessel it was in which was probably clay and the action of the anointing was the point. It is what is inside the church and our hearts. The fact is, there could have been nothing wrong with the old oak doors that could not have been fixed. Even if one argued that they needed to be replaced they could have been reproduced for perhaps ten, or twenty thousand. But seriously - solid bronze doors which required modification to the walls to be supported for $400,000.00 - this was necessary? One can only recall Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife (Episcopalian, of course) and his admonition about "tough times for the world."

Now, lest any of my fellow Etobians or anyone from the parish be upset at Vox for reporting this, you might first direct that to the Catholic Register. They made public your nearly half a million dollar expenditure on two doors, so don't blame me.

Oh, and by the way, what happened to the originals?

Solemn Mass for St. Joseph at Richmond Hill

What better way to celebrate Holy Father's installation on the same day; let us celebrate the Patron Saint of the Universal Church and of Canada with a Solemn Latin Mass in the Ordinary Form with the music of Franz  Schubert.

If you've not been to St. Mary's or to an Ordinary Form liturgy celebrated in complete accord with the intent, then you should come and experience the solemnity and prayer.

See you there!